Tandemsistaz - paragliding over the Gaisberg

Timmy from Tandemsistaz slipped into our DMs to ask if we'd go paragliding with them, a whole year before we finally said yes. We're afraid of heights, so the first answer was no.

We met Mani and Timmy at the top of the Gaisberg after a bus ride up with our gear. Between them they've got 22 years and 10 years of flying experience, and the first thing they did wasn't a safety briefing. It was an Almdudler and a chat, no rush, no pressure, just sitting there talking like we weren't about to jump off a mountain.

Then we weren't just talking anymore. One of us went up with Timmy and got the full show, flips and all, somewhere above Salzburg. The other flew with Mani, calm and easy right up until a death spiral that lasted maybe four seconds and felt like four minutes.

The best moment came after the spiral, not during it. Tandemsistaz drifted close enough in the air that the two canopies touched, a small kiss between the parachutes above the city.

Landing felt like the actual achievement, more than the flying did.

If fear has been the only thing stopping you from doing something, this is your nudge.